Review of Le Plaisir

This trilogy of tales adapted from De Maupassant is such a vivid contrast to today's mainstream cinema of frenetic editing, overblown adventure and concurrent explosions; instead, it is an evocation of times gone by, three mood pieces enriched by incredibly complex but telling cinematography. A personal favorite is the middle story, The Teller House, relating how some Ladies of The Night close their beloved city brothel for a night in order to attend a niece's Catholic confirmation in a small town; Ophuls captures the contrast between the women dressed in their lavish best with the simplicity not only of the child but all the village in their working class blacks, as they attend the service in a local church and surprise themselves and the town folk with an emotional catharsis; the episode is incredibly rich in atmospherics, capturing everything from the baroque traceries of the tiny church to the rickety wooden train interiors; the tracking shots of the brothel exterior, creating a sense of voyeuristic benevolence are simply incredible! The remaining two stories offer pleasures of their own in this lovely film with a sadly ironic view of happiness